This
simple Mexican restaurant on east Melrose has an unusual history which
is intertwined with Hollywood movie stars, rock singers and politicians.

It was here at Lucy's
that Linda Ronstadtwas
introduced to California Governor Jerry Brown(by the restaurant's owner), leading
to a lengthy and well-publicized romance between the singer and the presidential
candidate. Brown is still a fan. In fact, Lucy's still proudly displays
a large photo of Jerry Brown in its front window. In 1968, the late owner
convinced Vice President Hubert H. Humphreyto stop by for lunch when he was visiting KCAL studios
across the street.

Lucy's
El Adobe was also a hangout for a number of other folk/rock singers (besides
Linda), including two members ofthe Eagles
(Don Henley & Glenn
Frey) , singer Andrew
Gold ("Lonely Boy"),
songwriter Jimmy Webb("Galveston" & "MacArthur
Park' "), and singersJ.D. Souther("Your Only Lonely") and Jackson
Browne(who went there with actress Daryl Hannahlong before she started dating John Kennedy Jr.)

Lucy's
took care of these aspiring performers in the days before they hit it big,
and they haven't forgotten: when the Eagles
authorized an album of their songs by
various country artists ("Common Threads: The Songs of the Eagles"),
they held their press conference here at Lucy's.

ActressBetty
Thomas(who played Lucy Bates on TV's
"Hill Street Blues") reports that in the early days,
the owner (the late) Frank Casado would always feed her, even if she
had only five cents. (She was at his side in the hospital, along with wife
Lucy, when he died in 1990 at the appropriately-named Hospital of the Good
Samaritan.)

Named
after the owner's wife, Lucy's El Adobe is located on Melrose,
right across the street from both the huge Paramount
Studios(to the north) and the smallerRaleigh Studios(to
the east), not to mention the KCAL TV Studio,
so it's also a favorite of the studio crowd.

John Belushi
was there just weeks before his death. Orson
Welles dropped by. According to the
L.A. Times, other celebs who have dined at Lucy's include Kevin
Costner,Michael Keaton,Warren Beatty, Diane
Keaton, Jack Nicholson,
Carole Kaneand
the late John Candy.

In
the main dining room, one wall is filled with photos of even more stars
who have dined at Lucy's: Bernadette Peters,
Henry Winkler,
Lily Tomlin,
Connie Chung,
Winona Ryder, Lyle Lovett,
Phil Collins...

Prices are reasonable.

Getting
there: Lucy's is located across the street
from Paramount Studios. From Hollywood & Vine, take Vine Street
south (about a mile and a quarter) to Melrose Avenue. Turn left (east)
on Melrose, and go about a quarter mile east, to just past Gower Street.
The restaurant will be on your right (south) side.

This webpage is not associated with any business
described in the article above, and does not constitute an
endorsement of this or any other business. The photos of celebrities on
this page also do not constitute
endorsements by them of any kind, and are used by the author solely to
illustrate this online article.(Click here to read
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